Things Unseen, Things Unheard
by AnikaAnn
Summary: In which Matt's fiancée meets her father-in-law-to-be, Sam and Dean care and no one remembers they have already met them. Also, the whole 'meet the parent' thing is a bit alarming, considering Jack Murdock is dead – does it mean Vera is as well? - Probably works better if you at least check out the first part of the '9 plus 1 Rule' fic if not the whole 'Damned' 'verse of mine.
1. Waking up

_If read as a part of the Damned 'verse, set about a month after the 'Face to Face with Someone New'/about four months after 'Ready to Suffer, Ready to Hope', because I'm mean like that. _

_For . Because it wasn't so long time ago she let me know she re-read the first crossover with SPN and I had two things I wanted to do for a while – a reunion of the Winchesters and the pair and Vera meeting one particular character from DD. It required few things, but voilà, two birds killed with one stone._

_Pun not intended?_

_*running and hiding*_

_-.-.-_

**1\. Waking up**

Vera's head hurt. Like my-skull-is-gonna-crack-into-at-least-two-pieces hurt. Also, she was lying on a floor – no, on a _pavement_ – and she had no fucking idea how that happened, which sucked. She opened her eyes and immediately shut them close again. She reached to her throbbing head, groaning and deciding she was never going to do something as stupid as trying to open them again.

The thing was, she had no clue where she was, how she had got here, what had happened or what day it was, and not keeping her eyes closed would help with at least one of these questions. She whined and slowly commanded her eyelids to open.

She was in a dirty alleyway, _probably _somewhere in New York, Hell's Kitchen. Not that she was sure of that. Well, so much for seeing her surroundings being helpful.

With closer inspection, she found herself being clothed in her jeans and sweatshirt and considering the fact she wasn't cold, she came to conclusion it was like… end of April? _Go me._ Also, she had nothing in her pockets and there was no sign of a handbag or a backpack around her. _Perfect._ No calling for help then.

She pushed herself up with a groan, grateful for the presence of the wall on her right; she leaned into it so she wouldn't fall as the world spun. So. She probably got mugged and hit to her head pretty badly. _Awesome_. She subconsciously touched her left hand and felt a slight relief; whoever the mugger slash assailant had been, he had been polite enough to leave her engagement ring on. Sweet. She also had her watch, showing her it was just before seven – but the thinnest hand announcing the seconds was still, which meant the time could be totally different.

Vera sighed and remaining close to the wall, she headed to the main street. The sun was slowly coming up – did that mean she had been walking to work? But that would mean she hadn't noticed the watch had been broken by the time she had put them on in the morning, her usual go-to-work time being around five. Also, she couldn't remember— _oh._ Not to work. To her fit-box lesson. Right.

And _shit_. If it was already morning, she had been out for quite a while. Also, Matt was probably scared shitless. And she was late for work. It really was a miracle Mrs. Walker hadn't fired her yet; Vera was giving her reasons for that too often. She hoped her boss had her back this time too. Also, it was a wonder people still came to her lessons, considering how often she had been cancelling in the last moment (or not at all, leaving them just stand there with no explanation or a lecturer).

She entered the busy street, standing up straighter and trying to avoid the rivers of people flowing through the streets; it was easier than anticipated. Also, no one was paying attention to the woman who looked no doubt hangover and maybe even a little homeless.

Vera was relieved she found herself on a known spot soon, quickly choosing the fastest way home; she was hoping Matt wasn't out for a meeting yet, because she so didn't want to beg their landlord to lend her the spare key to their apartment.

By the time she reached the apartment building , the headache slightly faded to her delight. She jogged the few stairs to the door, hitting the bell which read Murdock— only to her see her hand- her hand- _what the actual fuck?!_

Only to see her hand… disappear in the wall the device was installed in. Her… her hand just _went through a wall._ She quickly retreated it, jumping away from the device.

"Doprdele."

_I'm dead,_ was her first thought. _I'm a ghost._

Vera giggled at the ridiculous idea instantly, trying calm down the icy fright that ran through her. She shook her head, reaching for the doorbell again.

Only to see her hand disappear again. Her breath hitched, her vision blurring.

Her watch were still. She hadn't felt cold or hot when the sunrays had reached her, nor she smelt the sweet scent of baked goods when she had passed the bakery on the corner. Her body was able to go through walls…? No one had noticed her on the street. Had she fucking _walked through_ _someone_ when going home?

Her heartbeat wasn't hammering in her temples at the terrible realization and it made her— not exactly nauseous?

"_Oh my god_."

She really was dead. But— but she was- she was breathing! And talking! And- her left hand shot up to her right wrist, trying to feel for her pulse, her throat impossibly tight.

There… there was a pulse. It seemed really fast and thread, but… it was there. What the hell did that mean?

She wasn't dead. Right? She still had her pulse. Her heart was beating, ergo she was alive. She sighed in relief. Something really, really weird was happening, but she would figure it out. She just needed to find Matt and his other super-friends and they could bring some light into this mess. This for example looked like Danny's area of expertise.

Except she couldn't touch the doorbell and she didn't have keys. Since her hand went through the wall, could she just… walk through the locked door? How was it possible she hadn't fallen into the core of Earth if—never mind. But earlier, she had _leaned onto_ a wall, how- _shut up._

She took a deep breath, extending her shaking hand towards the door.

She yelped when it suddenly flew open, her palm shooting up to her… heart. And then Mrs. Ginger just walked right through her as if Vera wasn't even here. It was the strangest feeling Vera ever lived through and she had lived through a lot; she had even met a guy who punched a dragon.

Also, there was a possibility she wasn't living through anything anymore. Fuck.

She quickly reached for the door to stop them from closing, but her hand indeed went through again.

"Huh."

So her body followed. Vera blinked at the unusual feeling, biting her lip. Okay, this was really, really outside the box. And she hadn't fall through the stairs, which was maybe even weirder, but she didn't want to think about it too hard, soon standing in front of the 6A apartment, gathering her courage. Her heart should be hammering in her chest, because she was terrified; so far, she found out she was possibly half-dead, she could walk through things and apparently, no one could see her or hear her. But Matt with his enhanced senses… he would, right?

She swallowed loudly, walking in. Through the closed door. Huh. She was almost getting used to that.

"Matt?" she called out cautiously in low volume, slowly moving through the hall to the living room.

She entered the space, finding Matt on the couch with his fist curled against his mouth and a phone on his ear. There was a man by his side, his hand on Matt's shoulder in comforting gesture. It surprised Vera – she couldn't identify him since he was showing her his back and she was pretty sure she would recognize Matt's friends even from behind, especially friends who apparently knew his identity since Matt was in his Daredevil outfit minus the helmet.

She paced to the pair, her fiancée's name on her lips again.

"Matt, hey, I'm-"

A pair of bright blue eyes shot up to her face, the gaze actually startling her with its intensity. Her heart not exactly jumped into her throat for one more reason; Matt didn't look up. His eyes were sightlessly staring at an armchair, his look haunted. The room was so silent Vera could hear the dialling tone.

The man at her fiancée's side glanced at Matt and back at Vera, his eyes widening in horror.

"No," he breathed, flickering between the couple again. He stood up abruptly. "You can't be here!"

Vera just gaped, the strange reaction of the man who now seemed to be a little familiar stopping her rising horror; instead, she was outraged.

"Excuse me?" she protested, focusing on the impudent man since he was at least paying attention to her. But seriously! How dared he?! "This is my _home_, mister, and this is my fiancée, and I'm not sure who you are and what are you doing here, but from the two of us-"

He crossed their distance in one long step; Vera was so shocked by the lunge and the lack of Matt's reaction she didn't dodge and-

-and the hand of the man landed on her shoulder in a solid grip. She gasped and her brain short-circuited at the huge amount of information. This man could see her and hear her. He could _touch her_. And when he lunged at her, he walked through the table.

The… ghost? _Jesus Christ, what the fuck_, the _ghost_ or whatever stumbled backwards, his fingers buried in his hair in a painfully familiar gesture.

"No, no, no," he whispered, sounding utterly horrified, "you _can't_ be here, because that would mean you're-"

Vera gulped, observing the man looking around desperately, his gaze landing on Matt's figure still clutching the phone. Vera was lost and honestly desperate, because would someone be so kind to explain what was happening here, because it sounded as if the man wanted to actually say the ugly D-word Vera didn't like to think of when evaluating her state or form or _whatever_-

"_The number you're ca-"_

Furious roar cut off the voice from the speaker and Vera jumped, suddenly feeling something fly through her, the item colliding with a wall with a sickening crack. She snapped her eyes in the direction of now standing panting figure that had thrown the phone.

Vera winced at the sight. His face was twisted in a grimace of raw anger and despair. He grabbed the small coffee table, the closest thing in his reach, slamming in against the ground with another roar switching into something that sounded a lot like a sob. The wood gave in and broke.

"Matt!" she yelled after him, horrified. _Jesus_. She couldn't remember seeing him losing it like this, _ever_. He was _scary_.

His hands were in his hair at instant and a flicker of hope warmed up Vera's chest. Maybe he could hear her after all. Maybe he thought he was just imagining her addressing him now, so she needed to convince him, to reach him-

"Matt!" she called out again, but he ignored her, shuffling towards the window, his fists hitting the bricks next to it simultaneously, before his forehead followed; luckily, not as fast as the fists. "Matt, goddammit, I'm right here!"

"He can't hear you," low voice announced gently behind her back and she jumped ten feet above the ground – she had forgotten about the other man completely.

"Shut up," she uttered in his direction, following Matt's path, slowly reaching for his left forearm. "Matt-"

Her fingers went through and she felt tears stinging in her eyes. Her hand went through him as if he was created of a thin air – or _she was_ – and she wasn't able to stop the sides of his fists hitting the bricks again with a heart-breaking sob.

"He can't-"

Vera spun to the man, her jaw clenched. The fact he was watching her with sad eyes didn't mollify her.

"He hears fucking everything!"

"I know. And believe me, I tried, so many times, Vera, but-"

She froze. "How the hell do you know my name? Who the hell are you? What the hell is going on?"

The man pressed his lips together and took few cautious steps in her direction. Through the remains of the coffee table. Šmarja. And Vera couldn't help but feeling like she was missing something. The strange man, who was apparently trapped in the same situation as her, resembled someone and her insides were urging her to _remember_ whom, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She was obviously missing something, but a lot more than just _something_ and Matt couldn't hear her and this guy-

"I… I was hoping we would meet, but I was kinda hoping we wouldn't."

Vera narrowed her eyes, even more baffled than before. What?

"What?"

"I ain't good at this stuff. It's nice to meet you, but not really," he added as if it was an explanation. Vera fought the urge to throw her hands in the air in exasperation and scream.

_Just say it, man, I have things to worry about._

He hesitantly extended his hand in Vera direction, meeting her eyes, his blue irises surprisingly warm. She breathed in shakily, wavering, but accepted his hand firmly. After all, he was so far her only potential ally. The corners of his lips rose for a second inconspicuously before his face twisted in an unreadable expression.

"Name's Jack Murdock," he introduced himself and if Vera's heart would be reacting the way it should, it would stop instantly.

She felt legless, the images of two men – the one she had watched on the footage of Murdock vs. Creel match and heard so much about and the one she was now shaking hands with – blending together with almost audible click.

"And like I said. It a bit nice to meet you."

Notes:  
On a scale from Mrs. Cardenas to Nobu, how much do you want to kill me?


	2. Ash and dust

**2\. Ash and dust**

She was standing in front of the man, unable to say a word.

Jack Murdock. Jack freaking Murdock. Matt's father. Now, when he introduced himself, she recognized him, absolutely sure he wasn't lying. He truly was her sort-of-future-father-in-law. Shit.

"Ježišmarja…" she muttered, not letting go of his hand, feeling as if the limb didn't even belong to her. "I'm… I'm sorry I told you to shut up and… and yelled at you, sir."

She gulped, seeing an amused spark in his eyes as he set her hand free.

"Can't say you didn't have the right," he offered with a sigh.

Vera bit her lower lip. "I'm still sorry. I… it's an honour to meet you, sir. Though… it's really not a typical meet-the-parents situation. Then again I _did_ make a fool of myself, so…"

"You really don't need to worry about that, Vera. This is… not how I would imagine this happening either. Can't always have what we want."

"I can't argue with that one," she breathed, taking all of this in. Oh _Jesus fucking shit_, she was dead and she was meeting her boyfriend's dead father. Not really something she could have prepared for and… she was fucking _dead_.

She glanced back at Matt, who was still leaning against the wall, his chest rising and falling heavily, his breath hitching irregularly.

"This is really bad. You shouldn't be here, Vera. That's…"

"What is 'here'? What is this? Heaven? Hell? Purgatory? Some place before any of that? I don't think I ever believed in afterlife—I- I don't want to be d-dead. I'm about to- I'm about to get married. I'm twenty-three for god's sake! I'm- I- " she stuttered, her breathing getting significantly difficult as she was coming to the realization that her life was indeed over, she was-

"I'm… I'm so sorry, Vera. I honestly hate this," he said in earnest and Vera grimaced, looking up to the ceiling, clenching her fists to fight off the tears. "I don't want you to be here-"

Vibration of a phone under the broken table made them all jump; it was the burner, Vera figured, since Matt managed to smash his other phone. She shivered at the memory of his rage.

The only living person in the room snatched for the device in almost inhuman speed.

"Vera?" Matt breathed to the phone with reverential hope, his tone making something in Vera shift, her heart cracking. _Oh Matt, Matty… I'm so, so sorry._

_Sorry, mum. Dad. Mechy. Terri. Anna. Jitka. Marky. _Oh fuck, fuck, fuck…

Naturally, it wasn't Vera's voice on the other end of the line. There was a short silence.

"You still haven't heard from her. Shit," the male voice stated, sounding familiar. Brett?

Matt's hands shook, the free one curling up in fist, his lower lips trembling inconspicuously; he tried to set his jaw tight, his eyes squeezing shut. It was a picture of pain Vera hated and there was nothing she could do to sooth the pain; hell, she was the one who had caused it. And not just to him. The others just didn't know yet.

"Brett."

"I'm sorry, Matt. I'm just calling 'cause someone brought her backpack to the station-"

Oh. That would explain why she hadn't had it when waking up in the alley. Probably? So someone had found her backpack but not her body? And _ouch_ she didn't want to think of her… body.

Matt's teeth clicked. "Who?"

There was anger in his voice. Accusation. Why?

"I doubt she has something to do with her disappearance. The lady was like seventy. We'll find Vera. Why don't you come down to fill in the missing person forms? It's been over 24 hours-"

"Really?" Vera questioned. But that would mean… she was pretty sure she was coming to the lesson on Monday evening. Did that mean it was Wednesday already? Oh shit, she was so losing her job-

Not that dead people needed job. _Fucking shit, don't cry…_

"I couldn't find her, Brett! Anywhere! I've been searching for two nights straight, I'm listening all the time and she's nowhere to be found!"

"I know. I know, Matt. But if you fill it in, we can reach out to other precincts and spread the word outside of Hell's Kitchen. You're just one guy. Come on," Brett encouraged him rather gently and Vera could see the emotions on Matt's face on pure display. She knew what he was going to say even before he opened his mouth.

"This shouldn't have happened. I should have been with her, and if not with her, I should be able to find her. I should, unless—unless-" Matt's voice died in his throat.

"Oh Matty," Vera heard behind her and she didn't even realize she was squatting by Matt now. She reached for his hand, her fingers curling about the tight fist as if she could really wrap them around his hand.

"They left him a lurch. Danny's in China, Luke didn't even pick up, Avengers either. Jessica was too drunk to say one sentence that would make sense," Jack informed Vera softly. Well. With friends like these… "Terri offered him to come back from her family stay, but he declined. He didn't call to Starling."

"Hey, none of that. Have a little faith. We'll find her. She's a trouble magnet, but she's always okay in the end, right? Come and help me to fill in the forms so we can start the search officially. It will be faster."

Vera pressed her lips together. Brett sounded as if he genuinely believed that he was right, that they would find her. And maybe he was right, maybe they would find her – her corpse. _Faster_.

_Christ_.

Matt was silent for a long time, lost in his own world. Vera wasn't sure what to say – not that it mattered, Matt couldn't hear her. But she also didn't know what to want – did she want Matt to report her as missing? Did she want the police to find her, fast? She was… she was dead. For her, nothing would change. For Matt on the other hand… she had no idea what was better for him. His fiancée was no longer among the living; was there really any rush for him to find out? Not to mention _someone_ would have to talk to her family eventually and they would find out too.

"Yeah, yeah, okay," he rasped to the phone, just the tiniest flicker of hope showing and Vera closed her eyes, suddenly knowing the answer to her own question. No, she didn't want him to go there and find her faster.

"That's the spirit, man. See you soon." Brett ended the call and Vera turned to Jack Murdock in despair.

"He can't find out. He can't find out that-" he started as if he was reading her mind and she just nodded furiously.

"Agreed, sir. But I have no idea how to do that."

Matt slowly rose to his feet, his fist loosening, going through Vera's intangible fingers. His motions were slow as if his whole body was hurting. What was the last time he had slept? Something told her that he hadn't caught a minute since she disappeared. Ouch.

She watched him walk to the bedroom, wavering by their bed. A hand appeared on her shoulder, squeezing lightly.

"He'll find out eventually, won't he? He doesn't deserve this," she exclaimed, her voice trembling just slightly. _How did I deserve this? _It felt impossible to breathe when Matt cautiously reached for her pillow, pressing it against his chest and burying his face in it, inhaling deeply. Her hand covered her mouth to muffle the strange sound drawn to her lips. "He doesn't deserve this."

_It's not fair. __**I**__ don't deserve this._

"No. No, he doesn't."

They joined him. Apparently, Jack wasn't tied to the apartment or whatever; how should Vera know how this worked? She was dead just for few hours, okay? The point was, Jack could follow Matt and so could Vera; so the moment he left the apartment, they did too.

"So… I'm sorry, this is probably inappropriate, but… you're… you're with Matt the whole time, Mr. Murdock?" she asked hesitantly as they were trying to keep up with Matt's tempo. The question had been nagging her for a while.

"You can drop the 'sir' and 'mister', Vera. It's Jack."

"Oh," she let out brilliantly, allowing herself to feel a bit warm in her chest. Matt's dad seemed to like her enough to let her call him his first name. To be fair, this really wasn't a typical encounter. "Thank you… _Jack."_

She would never think it would be so difficult to say such a simple name. She almost choked on it as she was nervous. Had he always been with Matt? Like… the whole time? Had he been there when she had met Matt? When she had been kidnapped? When _he_ had been kidnapped and she had stumbled in with the Avengers? And in multiple other moments she didn't want to think of? _Jesus._ Did he approve of her at least a little? She would think yes, since she was allowed to call him Jack, but… but.

"And yes. Mostly I was with him," he admitted quietly, but Vera heard him clearly. It was surprisingly easy to block out other voices from the busy street – it was like she was a receiver and Matt's and Jack's voices were the transmitters she was tuned to.

Her mind raced. "That must have been… terrible."

He looked at her curiously, without saying a word.

"I mean-" she hurried. _"-hard_. Being there when he was feeling down or when he was fighting and… and not being able to be there for him. To help. Just watch him struggle. I mean— he's a really amazing guy, you should be- I think he's the kind of man his parents can be proud of, but… he's been through a lot."

Vera couldn't make herself look up, but she saw him nod peripherally. "Yeah, it was hard. Of course, you're right. I _am_ proud of my son, Vera. You could have said I _should_ be proud of him. The man he is, it's amazing. With a father like me, tangled in with a mob, himself being blinded at nine and orphaned at eleven? Be sure I am proud of him, hella lot," he exclaimed, the sentiment clear in his voice. Vera smiled sadly. Matt would have loved to know this. "He's a respectable man and his faith in justice, his conviction to fight for it, no matter how many times the world showed him it's everything but fair… yeah, Matty is the best kid to have."

Vera blinked away her tears. "He would love to know that."

Jack smiled with only one corner of his lips up – and the resemblance with Matt was suddenly so obvious it made her heart clench.

"Yeah, I know. You can't imagine how many times I wished he could just hear me. Just one more time. So he would know I'm the luckiest dad on Earth. Just grab his shoulders and shake him, to talk some sense to him. Let him know how much he matters."

"He does," Vera agreed with a tight smile, not fighting the tears anymore at the display of father's love. _Jesus Christ._ "He loves you very much."

"And he loves you too." Jack's face darkened and Vera rather checked on Matt than watching the change. Not approving of his son's choice after all? "This shouldn't have happened. _You _should have stuck around. You made him truly happy."

Vera blinked, confused. She was receiving some mixed signals here.

"So you… uhm…" Jack looked at her, expectant. "…approved? Of… uhm…"

God, this was awkward.

"…you?" he finished and Vera bit her lip, nodding, unable to meet his gaze. He laughed, the noise short and a bit too loud. "Girl, did I approve…"

Vera raised her gaze, seeing a smile on Jack's face; she thought it was soft.

"Yeah, Vera, I approved of you. All I ever wanted for Matty was him to be happy. And you did that. But you did so much more too – you keep him not just happy, but safe too, well as much as you could, looking out for him. I've been here for a lot, Vera. I was in the bank, in the warehouse where you got shot and still tried to protect his identity. Even when you protected his name by fighting the creepy cult and speaking in the radio-"

"You were here?" she blurted out on instinct, too shocked to feel sorry for the interruption. What the hell? What-

"Yes. I learned to be where I want to be. Usually, I follow Matt, of course. But when he was in Cambodia and wasn't fighting at the moment… I stopped by here."

Vera's lips parted at the confession. _Oh my god. _He had been… had he been checking up on her?

"Oh."

"I was there when you grounded him, offered comfort-" he continued, unfazed by her surprise, and her face went red. (Sort of? Her form was still confusing to her.) How much of their… private moments had Jack witnessed? "I'm not a creep, Vera. I know where to leave, just for you to know."

It was more reassuring than Vera would be willing to admit. She relaxed a little.

"I like you, Vera. You're good for him— you _were_ good for him. But…" he hesitated and Vera froze. "I was there when he thought he lost you too. And it was bad, Vera. Really bad. You saw him just now and that's with you being missing. Imagine him when… when he finds out."

Vera watched Matt's figure making its way through the crowd and she couldn't help feeling like he looked lost. He had a goal, he had a direction, but he was frantic, unsure in his steps even with knowing exactly where he was going. What if he wouldn't have the goal?

"He'll… he'll get up. He told me… he told me that even if he gets knocked down, he can still win. It ain't how he hits the mat-"

"-it's how he gets up," Jack finished with her, a flash of delight at her knowing his own words, at Matt sharing them with her.

"I…" It hurt her to say… but it was something she had to believe in. "He'll… he'll get up, Mr— Jack. Matt always gets up."

Jack looked at her seriously, a bit touched, but also worried. "Yes. But… maybe with you being in the centre, you can't see it, Vera, but I am looking from a distance sometimes. Did you notice how often you were there to help him with that lately?"

Vera bit her lip as they entered the precinct, not wanting to respond.


	3. Shaping up

_**First look at the other heroes of the story. Dean's POV.**_

-.-.-

**3\. Shaping up**

Dean was cranky. Like really cranky and he was well aware, but to be fair, he had every right. The last case they had, it hadn't gone too well; in fact, it had gone pretty south. It wasn't just about Baby getting possessed by a vengeful spirit, no; it was about the girl.

A completely innocent girl had died and because she had her sister given her a kidney a while ago, the last piece of the body Sam and Dean hadn't burned yet, it had come… disgustingly convenient when the attack of the said vengeful spirit aimed at Sam and Dean had ended the girl's life. With Lisa crap and Sam's soul crap still raw, it was really not a good time. They barely managed to found a near motel and laid their heads to sleep, ready to check on the real damage made to Baby in the morning. Dean didn't sleep easily.

When he woke up, Sam was already awake of course, back from the hunt for food; probably aware of how shitty Dean was feeling, he had tracked down a pie – an actual freshly baked pie. Sammy was the best brother ever; with his soul back. He had already finished his coffee when Dean rolled out of bed, woken up by the delicious smell.

"Morning, Sammy," he mumbled, running his hand down his face tiredly, chasing away the remains of his dream of claws and fangs.

"Good morning," Sam returned the greeting absently, frowning at his laptop.

"Thanks for the pie. What's with the face?" Dean asked as he sat opposite to his brother, opening the box reverentially.

"Missing person. Two, actually. New York, Upper West Side of Manhattan and Hell's Kitchen."

Dean frowned, his mind waking up too slowly. "Why does Hell's Kitchen ring a bell?"

"Because we were there over a year ago," Sam informed him, sighing.

"The masked dude! The one dressed like the Devil, right? What was his name? Martin—no wait, I got this. Mike."

Sam's lips twitched. "Technically. It was Matt and he went under Mike until Cas revealed his identity to us."

Dean snapped his fingers. "Right. And you don't think he can handle that? Is there something… not natural about the disappearances?"

Sam grimaced. "Depends."

He turned the laptop around so Dean could see a picture of the people missing. It was a young woman and a young man – and the chick was familiar. His heart skipped a beat with realization.

"That's his girlfriend. I remember her. She was hot. And pretty cool."

"Yeah, well, she's been reported missing not even two hours ago. Left the apartment Monday evening, walking to a gym, and never came back. And the interesting thing is – Matt is the one who reported her missing. You think he would do that if he was handling things?"

Dean sighed. They had a lot on their plates now. And Matt had their number, he could have just called for help if he needed it. Which he hadn't. Dean _wanted _to help, but…

"I don't know, Sammy. Maybe he just doesn't want to look suspicious? I mean, I would report my girlfriend missing if she was. Don't you think he would let us know if there was something weird about it?" Dean questioned.

"I don't know. But you know what, a phone call sounds like a good idea. I'll just check up on them."

Matt didn't pick up, the voice announcing it was not possible to reach the called number. Dean didn't like that and apparently neither did Sam.

"Try the burner," Dean encouraged him and Sam just nodded, trying the other number. Successfully.

"Who's this?" Dean heard the dangerous voice and winced. Dramatic much?

"Hey, it's Sam. Winchester. We were in New York over a year, you helped us with a case-" Sam started, but was cut off quickly.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even want to know how you got this number. And I really don't have time for this."

"Matt, wait, don't you rem-"

The intrusive sound of hung up call echoed in the silent room.

"Nope, I don't think he remembers us, Sam."

Sam made a bitchface before his expression twisted with worry. "You think? He didn't sound so good."

Dean sighed, seeing Sam already made up his mind. "Well, it's not like we're too far. But we'll have to leave Baby somewhere, she's in no shape to get to New York."

"Sure thing, Dean. Whatever you need to make you lady happy."

The road was terrible; the _car_ was terrible, it downright _sucked_ and it had no mechanics for tapes, so they were stuck with silence, which was in the end better than a bad music. Good thing it was only a few hours trip.

It would be really helpful if they had Cas to do his thing and just find the chic and the guy so they could focus on more important things like the war in Heaven and stuff, but… well. Cas was probably busy with _the war in Heaven_. Dean sent a prayer anyway.

They found the old ID's – David and Nicholas Mason, FBI, no relation – just in case. They weren't sure how to play this; the second missing person was only reported in the morning and their early appearance would raise suspicion. They needed to start with Matt, which sucked, because Sam needed to hack who knew what to get his address – the only address the Winchester's knew was Vera's and that was kinda useless until they would go and try to impersonate FBI agents.

Of course, if this was a simple missing person's case, they would be no help unless Cas would join them. If there was something else… well. They were looking at number of options; vampires, werewolves, ghouls, djinns, rugarus, okamis... and none of those options were pretty. What was inconvenient was that there were only two people missing and no matter how badly it sounded, sadly no dead bodies that would point them the right direction.

They climbed up the five sets of stairs after the landlord pointed them onto the sixth floor – 6A. They knocked on the door loudly, even though they knew Matt had probably heard them asking for him.

No response. Sam sighed and Dean knocked louder. "Come on, Matthew!"

Sam shot him a thoughtful look. "Well, we can always use the rooftop access, Dean. I checked the building plans and it shouldn't be a problem… just a little bit of climbing-"

Dean watched him, horrified at the idea of climbing, until he heard heavy footsteps behind the door. He grinned. That was his smart boy Sammy.

The door slowly opened, the tiny chain not permitting it to let them in.

"Yes?" Matt asked groggily and Dean blinked, watching him through the slit, wrinkling his nose. Dude sure looked exhausted, wow.

"Good afternoon. We talked this morning and-"

"You're Sam, yeah, I remember. What do you want? I have things to do."

"We want to help," Dean exclaimed simply, crossing his arms on his chest. A little bit of gratitude, please? Damn, they never got a thank you…

The vigilante winced. "With what?"

"We worked together before and-" Sam started again and Matt frowned.

"I don't know about that. I also can't see how a blind lawyer could have helped you with anything-"

"There are other ways to see," Dean pressed and the change in Matt's face was too visible. He tensed and the door would close shut if it wasn't for Sam sticking his foot in and his hand pressing against it.

"You should leave."

"Mike, wait!" Horror flashed through Matt's face at the addressing. Sam dug deeper. "We really think we can help! Listen to our— _us!"_

The pressure against the door eased for a second, Matt's ears focusing on their heartbeats no doubt. Jeez, this was never getting less crazy. It was funny as their roles reversed – now with the brothers being the ones trying to gain Matt's trust in a sticky situation.

"Who are you?" the lawyer asked warily, observing them in his own way.

"My name is Dean Winchester, this is my brother Sam Winchester. And I have no idea how could you forget about yourself almost dying the last time you got our back, but we're here to help with finding Vera , I swear," Dean said slowly.

Matt looked thoughtful. And then the door closed, because Sam stopped guarding it.

"Son of a-"

And then there was clinking of metal as the chain disappeared, the door opening again, revealing Matt Murdock in his all sad glory.

"How exactly do you think you can help?"

-.-.-

Notes:  
You don't just leave your fellow vigilante in the lurch when his bae is missing :) Carry on my wayward sons


	4. Breathing in

_Warning: Gross towards the end._

**-.-.-.-**

**4\. Breathing in**

Brett was being really supportive, but it didn't do much good. Matt filled the missing person report with him and they silently discussed things that weren't exactly safe to talk about on record, only to find out they were lost.

"There is another missing person case in Upper West Side. Maybe there's a connection . I'll keep you posted, okay?"

"I'll extend the perimeter tonight. Thank you, Brett."

Everyone who would see them could tell the gratitude wasn't fake, but the tiny smile was. No one had commented on that; Vera sighed. Not that either of the two men could hear her.

Jack could, but he didn't really have any comfort for her – he was worried for his son, because he himself was in the company of the person that was missing, talking to them, which only meant one thing; whenever the search would be successful, they would only find a corpse. That was a fact. Vera fought a shiver at that.

They left the precinct significantly slower, Matt wandering the streets after. He went to the place Vera had 'woken up' at – was that where she had been taken and then killed? Possible. It would explain why she had found herself here. Matt inspected the place, just like multiple times before as Jack informed Vera, and left abruptly, probably not learning anything new. His fists were clenched though, and Vera was pretty sure she saw tears behind the red lenses of his glasses; fury, fear or understanding, she wasn't sure.

It was when he received a call on his burner, shocking the trio.

"Who's this?" Matt growled to the phone, a male voice responding. Vera couldn't make out the words, but she could tell Matt didn't like them. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even want to know how you got this number. And I really don't have time for this."

With those words, he hung up. Vera had no idea what this was about and actually was a bit curious about _how_ someone had got the number of Matt's burner, but the train of her thoughts was cut off by Matt stopping in his tracks all of sudden, spinning on his heels and walking few steps back – into a supermarket.

Vera exchanged looks with Jack, but followed him in there. He seemed a bit lost, immediately catching an eye of a shopping assistant.

"Good morning, sir, can I help you somehow?"

Vera was surprised to see Matt react with a smile instead of being at least a bit annoyed at the assumption he needed help.

"Yes, actually. Would you be so kind and pointed me in the direction of granola bars and flapjacks?" he asked politely and Vera's gut twisted with an unpleasant feeling, only growing stronger when the young assistant walked him to the right shelf. "Oh. Thanks. Anything with apricot here?"

The blond woman smiled uselessly and offered him few options while Vera stared at them, frozen and wanting to scream.

"Oh Matt, you can't do this…" she murmured, knowing too well this purchase wasn't meant for him, not really. She loved apricots and pretty much anything resembling the taste – apricot juice, yogurts, oatmeal, flapjacks especially. And Matt was aware, of course he was. "Goddammit, Matt."

If this was another case, she would have encouraged him to have faith, not to lose hope, but her presence right behind him staying unnoticed was enough of a prove there was no hope left for her. And for once, Matt hung on the hope just like she had been always trying to convince him to do.

Life was so fucking unfair.

"Thank you. You've been a great help. I'll find the cashbox myself."

Vera wiped away the tears gathering in her eyes, Jack silently watching her, understanding, because he had sure witnessed Matt's amusement over Vera's obsession at least once.

Matt left the shop with an inconspicuous satisfied smile on his face. Once more, Vera would be happy for the development if it wasn't for the fact she was dead and Matt's fall when finding out about her death would only hurt more with more hope he would hold onto.

"What was Matt like as a kid?" Vera asked, not really having anything to do since Matt was sitting on the couch, watching the wall dully. Vera was sure he was listening in, to anything, but on the outside, he just seemed zoned out. She wondered how the hell he hadn't fallen asleep yet. And _why _hadn't he; there was nothing useful he could be doing now anyway.

"Smart," Jack responded immediately, making Vera smile. Of course he was. "And a smart-ass. Even after the accident, his very first time being a hero… sure, he was scared, it was hard to cope, but… he was a fighter. He worked hard and quoted Thurgood Marshal since he was eleven."

Vera couldn't supress a small laugh at that despite the situation. "That soon, huh?"

"That soon, yeah. He was curious about everything. He was breathing in information, reminding me of a walking encyclopaedia, even then. It just escalated with age, but… I knew he would be something, something much more than I ever was, even in his early years."

"He told me you never wanted him to use his fists like you, but his brains," she noted softly and Jack smirked.

"Yeah. And he does, apart from using his fists too. He always has been that sneaky."

Vera was trying to imagine a ten year old blind kid being sneaky and somehow it was easier than she would think. It was… such a Matt thing to do.

"That's too easy to believe," she admitted, earning a grateful smile from Jack. There was no doubt he was glad he could talk about his miraculous son with someone – with someone who loved him about as much as he did.

The idea of kids sent her thoughts sideways – she thought of her own, of the kids she would never have with Matt, the ones she was sure he would adore. Maybe they would be like him, hungry for any new piece of information, curious eyes and amazed smiles.

She didn't bother fighting her tears. She was entitled to mourn. She was fucking dead and her kids would never be alive.

"Wanted to have kids with him," she whispered with a crack in her voice. "And he wanted too. He… I knew he would be the most loving father to ever exist – well, sharing the place with you, of course – and even if he had a lot of things to care of, important things which would end up with him not always being there for them- doprdele. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"I know," Jack stated dully, his tone flat.

She wasn't helping, she knew, but _god_. There had been so many things ahead of her, ahead of _them,_ and now there was only her funeral. Lyrics of 'If I Die Young' sounded in her ears and she clenched her teeth, trying to chase it away. Was this her future, staying like this forever? Because that sounded just wonderful.

A loud knock on their apartment door made the ghost pair snap their heads in the direction of the noise – Matt didn't even wince. He must have known it was coming – and he didn't care.

Another knock, louder, violent.

"Come on, Matthew!" outraged male voice called shouted from behind the door, piquing Vera's interest.

She walked to the door, examining the visitor. There were two – both rather tall (one of them so tall it reminded Vera of her brother with a painful pang in her chest) and ripped, both wearing business suits and one of them having an annoyed look as an accessory. Vera figured he was the one to shout before.

"-use the rooftop access, Dean," the taller one with longish hair exclaimed, making Vera blink in surprise. "I checked the building plans and it shouldn't be a problem… just a little bit of climbing-"

Matt rose from the couch with an irritated huff, shuffling towards the door as well, tired expression on his face. Jack was right behind him.

Matt put the chain they never used on, opening the door only for a slit.

"Yes?"

"Good afternoon. We talked this morning and-" the taller one started and Vera made the connection with the morning phone call. Huh. Insistent clients?

"You're Sam, yeah, I remember. What do you want? I have things to do."

"We want to help," the other one said matter-of-factly and Vera shot him a shocked look. What? Matt winced, while Jack left out a shocked exhale.

"Oh my god."

"What?" Vera turned to Jack while Matt asked a question on his own: "With what?"

"We worked together before and-"

"I don't know about that. I also can't see how a blind lawyer could have helped you with anything-" Matt cut off _Sam_ and Jack gestured with his hands wildly.

"They did work with you! How can you not remember? Matty almost-"

"There are other ways to see," the shorted one noted and Matt, apparently spooked – rightfully so, Vera was freaking out too, because what the hell –, tried to close the door quickly, only to meet with a resistance.

"You should leave."

"They helped you! With the werewolf thing!"

Vera looked at Matt's father as if he had grown a second head. Was this what the eternity as a ghost did to people? They went crazy?

"I know how that sounds, Vera, but it's the truth! It was the weirdest thing, but you _knew_ it was real and one moment they were leaving and the next moment you seemed to forget about everything!"

"That _does _sound a bit crazy-" Vera stated, wary of insulting Jack, but…. It was really hard not to when he was talking nonsense.

"Mike, wait! We really think we can help! Listen to our—_us!"_

"Oh god, they know," Vera whispered, horrified.

"Yes! Because they helped you with another missing people case… well, sort of. They just stopped the disappearances by killing the werewolves. You helped. It was in a warehouse, you had a lighter and a hairspray, you were paired with Dean – that's the other guy and-"

"My name is Dean Winchester," the shorter guy said and Vera's gazed flickered between Jack and _Dean_. What… how was that possible? How did Jack know the name of the guy? How- "-this is my brother Sam Winchester. And I have no idea how could you forget about yourself almost dying the last time you got our back, but we're here to help with finding Vera, I swear."

Vera spared once glance at Jack, his expression shamelessly screaming _I told you so._ What the hell?! How did they even know-

Matt closed the door with Jack's loud protest, and then opened them wider. Vera couldn't believe her eyes. Matt was getting desperate, wasn't he? Then again… it almost looked like those yahoos were telling the truth – Jack included.

"How exactly do you think you can help?" Matt asked warily, not quite letting them in just yet.

The question ringed in Vera's ears like an intrusive alarm. Yeah. _How exactly do you think you can help? Ever tried a resurrection ritual? _Vera winced at the memory of the last time she saw a ritual, bile rising to her mouth. Maybe she didn't even want to know what these guys were about to do.

The Winchester brothers were bold and very matter-of-fact. And judging by Jack's approving hums and Matt's lacking interruptions and accusations of lying, they were also…. telling the truth. And didn't comment on the broken coffee table, so kudos for that.

Apparently, monsters were real. Who would think? Maybe someone who had become a ghost recently? Huh? _Macháčková, I'm looking at you…_

So, the Winchesters had been in the town before, investigating strange murders, because apparently, they were some sort of ghostbusters. They had impersonated federal agents to get the records and interrogate Vera, because they had wanted to get in touch with the vigilante, following her-

"Hey!" Vera complained loudly at the revelation and Matt let out an outraged… _sound_ Vera couldn't quite place. It sounded a little threatening and Vera felt ridiculous satisfaction at him still defending her.

"She was suspicious, okay? And you handed my ass to me anyway," Sam explained and continued the narration.

They had actually got their asses handed to them both, by the werewolves – what the hell? – and Matt had happened to be around, offering his nurse friend and Vera's apartment as a safe house.

"_Thanks_, Matt. You altruism isn't appreciated in this case, just FYI."

The fact Vera had apparently donated her blood to injured Sam shut her up effectively. Also, they had offered the brothers their help with getting rid of the monsters. And Matt had almost got sliced in the process; Vera winced at Dean's choice of words, wondering how it was possible not to remember any of that. Traumatic experience blocked out? Did it work like that? Because she had plenty of those and it had never happened before.

So, Matt had been hurt badly, almost died, but an _angel_ had appeared and-

"That's it, that's where I draw the line. There is no way _angels_ exist. That's just— insane!"

"His name was Castiel. He did heal Matt. And he spoke to you in your mother tongue," Jack noted gently and Vera looked at him incredulously, still sceptical. Very sceptical. But if Matt could tell they were telling the truth… he didn't question any of it, just staring blankly, trying to get some sense of it. To be fair, if Matt really had got… sliced up and now he didn't even have a scar to prove it, suggesting he was indeed fully healed.

What the actual hell. Heaven? _Angels?!_

"In the end, we just said our goodbyes and left with exchanging numbers. You should have it saved."

Matt gulped at Sam's last note. "My phone is… broken. And the burner doesn't announce the caller ID," Matt stated as if he wasn't the one who broke the phone when smashing it against a wall in his rage. Also, as if he truly believed everything what the men just said. Which... what? He seemed unfazed even.

"Right. Anyway, so far we haven't been at the-"

The burner started buzzing as if on a cue, Matt's hand snatching for it. "Yes?"

"Hey, Matt. I… have some news about-"

"Have you found her?" Matt blurted to the phone, jumping to his feet. To Vera, it felt like she was punched in her gut – with brass knuckles on. She could hear the heavy tone in Brett's voice Matt apparently decided to ignore. Oh god, oh shit, he would tell him now-

"I'm sorry, Matt." Vera squeezed her eyes shut as Brett made a pause. "We found the other missing person." Huh? "Maybe it's not connected, but… look, it's probably just a coincidence-"

"What, Brett?" Matt demanded, straining the words through his teeth.

"I… I'm sorry, Matt. He was dead."

Vera gulped, fighting the urge to hug the shit out of her fiancée, to hold him as tight as possible, to comfort him, to— to do anything. He lowered the phone to his chest, his knuckled going white around it, his head bowing, his lips rapidly moving with silent words. Praying?

"How did the body look like?" Dean asked rather lowly and Vera looked at him as if he went insane. Was he fucking kidding her?! Brett had just told Matt the other missing person was found dead!

"Shut your stupid mouth!" she hissed at him, ignored, of course. Matt's hand shook.

"I'm serious. It could help us to figure out if it was-"

"Brett?" Matt rasped into the phone, Vera's whole body on highest alert. Oh _Jesus fucking Christ,_ was he really about to ask him?! "How— how did the- the body look like?"

Vera exhaled shakily, incredulous. _Christ, Matt_. He was white as sheet of paper, yet he had asked him. Why? To torture himself? It didn't matter which monster it was! She was dead for god's sake!

"Matt, I really don't think I should-"

"Brett. Please."

"Look, it… it just wasn't pretty, okay? But it doesn't matter, because-"

"Not good enough," Sam noted and Vera grinded her teeth. Sam had seemed to be the saner one in the pair of _hunters_ or whatever so far. Apparently, she was wrong thinking that.

"Tell me," Matt demanded in shaky voice and Vera had enough. She reached for the phone to rip it away from Matt. Vainly of course. She growled in frustration as her hand just went through him.

"He… uhm… he had his belly somehow inflated. Guys from forensics weren't careful enough, they prodded in a bad way and…"

"Brett, don't you dare to say another word," Vera warned him uselessly, feeing nausea building in her stomach which was something physically impossible, but here she was. She was about to gag if she learnt more.

"It burst. The insides they were… melted. They think it was chemicals or something, but… we really don't know. He had a strange blue burn on his forearm too, but, Matt, this doesn't mean anything, okay? It's just… bad timing, okay? We won't stop looking for her and we can't make any assumptions-"

"Thanks, Brett. I gotta go," Matt whispered, the phone falling from his hand as he crumbled back into the couch, his knees getting too weak to keep him upright. His skin was now ashen and he looked like he was gagging on nothing; Sam was the bright one, handing him a trashcan before he threw up.

"We should have asked where they found him," Dean hummed, discontent, and Vera just couldn't help it – she slapped him just a moment before Battlin' Jack Murdock did justice to his name and delivered an excellent uppercut.

And to her shock, the hunter blinked in surprise as his head flied a bit backwards – definitely less than it should, but it fucking _moved_ from the momentum and he held the injured place, frowning and looking around.

Vera shot Jack an alarmed and awed look at the same time, not understanding what just happened.

"Matt?" Dean choked out. "Do you ever feel any cold spots in your apartment? 'Cause I'm pretty sure you have a ghost in here. And I just pissed it off."


	5. Feel it in my bones

**5\. Feel it in my bones**

Matt stared at Dean for a while before answering. What kind of a question was that? Cold spots? Come again?

Also, Vera _so_ didn't want Matt to find out he had ghosts in his apartment. What ghosts could hang out with him, huh? Newsflash – her. Here came yet another faster way to figure out she was dead. Possibly with liquefied insides. Ew. Jesus, she really didn't need that information.

"Uhm… no, I don't think so. Why is it important?" Matt asked weakly and seeming baffled.

Dean made a face. "Well, ghosts aren't a good thing to have in your apartment. We'll check it out when we're on it. I'll get the stuff."

He left the room, Vera's murderous glare following him. She turned to Jack, who was watching his hands in awe.

"How did you do that?" she demanded, traces of complaint in her voice. Hey, she wanted to be able to do that too! It was her right to punch Dean in the face for digging into Matt's trauma!

"I have no idea," he mumbled, not even looking up. "That never happened before. And believe me, I tried, especially in the beginning when… that Stick asshole hit my kid."

Vera grimaced. Well, that was fair. "Maybe you got stronger. That could be a good thing, right?"

"Not sure. I was… really angry."

He slowly raised his bright eyes to her, suddenly looking scared. He wanted to hit Dean, but… he didn't want to hurt people… to unleash the fabled Devil in Murdock boys.

"Hey," Vera soother him, hand on his forearm. "He was being a dick. He deserved that. And it was just a punch. I mean… a fabulous one, but that hardly comes as a surprise."

Jack attempted a smile, hesitantly covering her hand with his. She smiled back.

"What happens now?" Matt asked Sam quietly, not getting up just yet despite the smell and taste no doubt killing him.

"We'll try to find a creature that would match the… modus operandi so to speak. Because this definitely sounds supernatural. As for the ghosts… we'll check for EMF – ghosts… operate on certain frequency and we have a device that can detect them. Then we'll see."

Matt nodded dully, pushing himself up. Vera followed him with her gaze as he walked to the bathroom, the door clicking behind him. They all left him his privacy, but Sam's brilliancy showed again as he tied the trashcan bag, shoving it behind the door of the apartment, and opened the window to let some fresh city air in. Vera kinda liked him for it.

"Dude. I just walked six stories up, I'm not coming back down," Dean complained from the door as he set down some equipment and Sam rolled his eyes, taking his phone, shooting him a text – seemingly not wanting Matt to hear the response. "Fine. _Bitch…"_

Vera blinked at the strange exchange, but didn't spend too much time wondering what that was about and what Sam could have told Dean. The taller man already sprang into action, taking a device resembling a walkie in his hand, turning it on by the door. Vera didn't know what to expect; she stood frozen on her spot, afraid what would happen if he approached her with it. Would it like… vaporize her or something? She didn't want that. Things so far kinda sucked, but she didn't know what the other options were, so she would take what she could get.

Sam slowly scanned the apartment, taking cautious steps, waiting for any response from the device.

"Jack? What do we do?" Vera whispered, looking at him, searching for an advice, for support. Apparently, he had none.

"No idea. Let him… check us? Maybe it can tell if we're… good ghosts or not?"

"Well, are we?"

Jack just shrugged helplessly and Vera took a deep breath as Sam got dangerously close to her, attentive eyes still on the device. She gulped as he… walked through her. God, this was still so weird. Also… did the device do nothing? She breathed out shakily, shooting Jack a confused look. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"You owe me for those stairs, Sammy," Dean announced, arriving to the apartment once more. "How it's going? Any EMF?"

Sam pressed his lips together, shaking his head. "Not so far. Almost finished with this room. I'll… wait before I just walk into someone's bedroom, Dean."

"Wuss."

"You can go in," Matt whispered softly, hair a bit damp as he probably splashed cold water in his face apart from other things.

All heads snapped his direction.

"Thanks. I'll just…" Sam gestured vaguely around the room, walking in Jack direction. As he got about three feet to Jack, the device let out a high-pitched sound.

Sam's eyebrows rose and Vera with Jack jumped in fright. _Jesus._ What did that mean?!

The hunter walked closer to the ghost, the device freaking out as he stood practically… inside Jack. Yuck?

"You do have a ghost in here," Dean stated, not looking surprised. Matt on the other hand seemed utterly shocked.

"Actually, he has two," Vera noted. "Why didn't it make a sound with me?"

"Maybe you're too young. I mean… you're not ghosting for long enough?" Jack offered, sidestepping Sam to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling of someone standing right inside of his… form.

"Maybe…" Vera murmured. Could it be it? Or was she somehow… defective? Was that why she couldn't punch Dean? Because she thought she was angry enough. She had seen Ghost, okay? Get angry enough and you can move things. Why couldn't she?

"You really never felt cold spots here?" Sam asked for reassurance and Matt shook his head, looking incredibly small and thin in the suit he hadn't took off since he had come back from the precinct.

"No. And I would feel it. My skin's… really sensitive."

"It could be a new ghost, deceased recen-" Dean hummed, wondering, which gained him a sharp look from Sam.

"Dean!"

Matt stopped breathing and Vera realized what Dean just implied and why Sam shouted at him, his face screaming _'are you kidding me'_ just as loudly.

"Dude," Sam admonished him. "Just— can't be that new. I mean, it usually takes a while for them to control themselves, to materialize themselves. The ghost could be here for a while. Matt, listen— Matt?"

Vera was so caught up in the discussion between the brothers she completely missed Matt sliding down the wall next to the bathroom door, only seeing him on the ground now.

"Matt!" she yelled, horrified, Jack's 'Matty' echoing in the background.

He seemed conscious, leaning onto the wall, as if only his knees gave up under all the tension and heavy weight of the realization. Vera squatted by Matt's figure, shooting Dean an ugly look. Both brothers stumbled to Matt, trying to get his attention.

"You can't see into your mouth, can you?" she hissed at Dean, completely ignoring the fact the hunter was right. Yes, there was a recently deceased ghost in this apartment. But it hadn't been detected by the device. She couldn't do anything properly, could she?

"Matt, don't listen to Dean. You're a vigilante. You can have tons of people who could be here because of you. And not all ghosts are the same," Sam hurried, taking Matt's wrist, feeling for pulse. Vera would like to do that to, but she couldn't – it was maddening. She carefully caressed the air above his pale face, twisted in a painful grimace, as if her fingertips could actually touch him.

The touch didn't feel right to her and he, he didn't feel it at all.

"Sam, the ghost punched _me_. I doubt it was Matt's mortal enemy."

"Just shut up!" Vera snarled, pressing her lips together as Matt gave them a barely noticeable nod. "Asshole."

"We can deal with the ghost later. We need to find the creature, whatever it is," Sam decided, leaving Matt's side with hesitation. Vera would like him to share the result of his short examination, but she wasn't so lucky. Obviously.

She sighed as both brothers settled with some heavy books, herself staying with Matt. She pressed a light kiss on his forehead, unsurprisingly not gaining any reaction.

Only Jack exhaled heavily at her side, not daring to say a word.

Vera barely listened to the brothers talking, watching Matt instead. He hadn't move; he was still sitting by the wall, his back leaning onto it, knees bended, his arms just hanging limp. He was staring into space, zoned out. It was scaring Vera; he was completely absent-minded, lost in another world, his eyes seeming blinder than usual, his face expressionless.

_Numb,_ her mind supplied not so helpfully. Matt was terrifyingly _numb_, cut off from the outside world. Catatonic. He didn't even cry, unlike Vera, who was tortured by the state he was in, watching and unable to do a single thing about it.

She fucking _hated it_. Was this how Jack felt all those years? It was a feeling that made her want to rip herself apart from the frustration.

She jumped out of her skin when Matt suddenly spoke up, startling everyone in the room.

"How do I kill it?"

His voice was flat, emotionless; it sent icy needles down Vera's spine, her hair standing on end.

"What?" Sam asked despite the fact Matt had spoken with painful clarity. The blind man raised his gaze, aiming the general direction of the pair of hunters crouched above a thick ancient book.

"The _thing_ responsible. How do I kill it?"

Sam swallowed visibly, his Adam's apple working. "We think it was a djinn and there's not really a specific way to kill it as far as we know, anything works… but we still need to track it down. And… look, I don't think it's a good idea-"

"A djinn? Shouldn't they grant wishes or something?" Vera wondered absently, probably not as surprised as she should be. This was a fucked up world after all, wasn't it?

"It wouldn't be the first time things aren't as they seem," Jack noted darkly, his concerned gaze focused on Matt.

"How. Do. I. Kill. It?" Matt strained through his teeth, his tone still surprisingly calm. Too calm and sharp as razors. He was boiling on the inside, Vera was sure. And the boiling emotions would blow up. Very soon. The question was what the damage would be.

"Any way should work," Sam repeated in a whisper and Matt just nodded, his fist curling up tightly before relaxing again. He returned into his numb state, oblivious to Winchesters' presence. Time stretched.

Vera startled as he started climbing up the wall to stand up all of sudden.

"Matt?" Sam questioned. "Need help?"

It took a while for the man in question to answer. "No. I just… I just need a minute to myself," he whispered, walking towards the bedroom to the surprise of all people and ghosts in the room.

_A minute to himself? _That couldn't mean anything good. Vera's hands uselessly hovered around him as he shuffled along the wall into their bedroom.

"Of course. But, Matt… no one says it's Vera. It could be anyone. Don't give up on her yet," Sam advised him kindly, but Matt didn't react, sliding the door closed. Vera sighed, a bit touched by Sam's care. Too bad he was wrong.

She herself wavered whether she should follow her fiancée. He asked for minute alone and she didn't _want to _leave him alone – not that it made any difference to him or she could actually comfort him or something. She wanted to be with him; she wasn't sure how much of a violation of privacy it would be if she was there.

She bit her lip, glancing at Jack. He gave her a tiny nod and she took a deep breath, walking into their bedroom, only to find Matt sitting on the edge of their bed; her side, showing her his back. She swallowed against the non-existent lump in her throat, coming closer, worried of seeing his expression. To her surprise, he seemed surprisingly calm – the good kind of calm –, despite his fingers clutching the sheets.

"Hey Vera," he said softly, making her breath hitch. Did he…?

But he stared right in front of himself, his posture stiff even when she returned the greeting. No tilting his head to listen, nothing. She sat down next to him, covering his hand with her own, keeping it as high as if it was indeed lying on top of his. She didn't know who she was trying to fool.

She looked up just in time to watch him let out a wet humourless chuckle, his eyes getting glassy. "I'm probably talking to air, _Jesus_. I… are you here?"

_Yes_, she wanted to say, which would only confirm the true theory of her being dead. However, Matt couldn't hear her anyway. What was a little conversation?

"Yes."

"Maybe you're really here…. Did you come to haunt me?" he asked, voice still soft, but with painful crack and a drop of a poisonous irony.

She set her jaw tight. Of course he would think that.

"No."

"Because it's alright if you did, you know. At least-" He swallowed to cover the fact his voice was trailing off with its weakness. "At least you're here."

Vera pressed her lips together at the tiny hope behind those words, at the ghost of a smile (such a bad formulation, _fuck_) on his face, watered by his tears to blossom. He bowed his head just slightly, his grip on the sheets tightening.

"And I deserve to be haunted."

"Oh, Matt, no, no, no, none of this guilty-"

"Maybe it's a punishment. For… for not trying hard enough to keep my promise. I promised I'll do everything in my power so you wouldn't lose me, and… and I didn't."

She watched the emotions play on his face, her heart aching. She had no idea he could ever connect these two things, that he was still feeling the guilt for almost dying at Midland Circle. It shouldn't have surprised her that he twisted it around to find a way to think it was something coming back at him.

"Matt, that's not-"

"I almost didn't come back to you and now you won't come back to me," he whispered with a broken smile. "Maybe if I kept my promise, things would have been different. We would have spent Christmas planning our wedding instead of patching us up and you wouldn't have been walking to the stupid gym that night, because we would have been… we would have been cake tasting or something."

The idea startled a bitter laugh from him and Vera felt like she couldn't even breathe. _Oh, Matt. _And the image, the image of happiness, her trying to feed him and him naming all the ingredients until they would hunt down the least artificial cake, it was… it hurt. She _wanted _that. And she would never get it.

"It's not your fault, Matt. Don't torture yourself with 'what ifs'," she pleaded lowly, running her fingertips over his damp cheeks, her own tears begging to be released, her insides uncomfortably clenched.

"Or you would have been choosing your wedding dress. We would have joked that I could have been here, because it wouldn't be like I would have been seeing you in the dress before the wedding and you would have tried on tens of different dresses and I would have secretly laughed at you and told you it wouldn't matter, because you would be beautiful in all of them."

She covered her mouth, tears rolling down her cheeks, her chest impossibly tight. _Jesus Christ._

"But I didn't try hard enough to keep my promise and this is what I get. I should have known that you forgiving me and taking me back wouldn't last-"

"Of course it would, Matt. I love you," she mumbled to her palm, her voice shaky.

"I just… I guess I just want to tell you that even if it didn't always seem that way and I ever made you doubt… I love you. More than anyone. And— God, I'll miss you. I'll miss you- so much. I already do." His lower lip trembled violently and it was devastating to watch him struggle to stop it. "So yeah, haunt me all you want. I'm here. And if there is a way to… get rid of ghosts, I won't let them chase you away."

He inhaled shakily and slowly lay down on his side, heavily placing his legs on the bed too. Vera dried her imaginary tears, climbing beside him as he curled up in a ball, hugging her pillow. She snuggled to him, touching him, connecting with every point of her body she could, nuzzling her nose in his neck as he always used to do to breathe her in and to be as close as possible. She raised her arm to hug him, keeping her up like that. She doubted ghosts could tire their muscles enough to hurt. Her heart was a different case.

"Maybe one day, you'll have to."

-.-.-  
Notes:  
Dean needs a new brain-to-mouth filter. Also, Vera is really offended by the EMF ignoring her, okay?

My thoughts on why Matt never feels the cold spots (has he?) – it's all he knows. After his father's death, he was lost, his senses all over the place. By the time Matt had come to his senses (ha, sorry), his father's presence was constant. My theory, maybe silly. As for not feeling Vera… well.


	6. Paint it red

**6\. Paint it red**

Vera winced as Matt sat up abruptly all of sudden. His breathing had been so even she had thought he had fallen asleep. Apparently not. She rolled away uselessly, not less fascinated by the fact she wasn't falling through the bed or the floor. Being ghost was weird.

Matt slid the bedroom door open and the brothers with Jack looked at him almost guiltily. Vera would bet they-

"We… have an approximate location," Dean admitted with an innocent smile. Yep, that was what she thought.

Maybe they wanted to keep Matt out of it, which was something Vera would appreciate greatly. But her and them, they had no such luck. He had ears like a bat.

As they announced him the news, Vera could see a dangerous gleam in his eyes; so different from the glassy tears she had seen hours ago. It was a mean spark of determination. Vengeful. _Blood-thirsty._ She gulped at the sight.

"I don't like this," she stated uselessly.

"Me neither," Jack agreed, watching Matt with anxious eyes. "This is one of the things I was afraid of."

"Where?" Matt demanded flatly.

"About the border with Upper Westside Manhattan. It's a bit weird for djinns to… focus on wider area. But this is the best we could do," Sam explained

Matt just nodded in acknowledgement, walking to the under-stairs storage room, pulling his Daredevil box out. To Vera's surprise, he neglected the armour; he went for his old suit, the black one. It confused the hell out of her and she wordlessly searched for answers with Jack. But Matt's father just shook his head, clueless as much as her.

Matt didn't bother leaving to his bedroom to change, doing it as the Winchesters packed up their stuff. Vera watched them rather than Matt – it felt strange to eye up Matt with other people in the room and one ghost actually seeing her doing it. She witnessed a wordless conversation between the brothers, unable to read them beside the fact they didn't like Matt coming with them. That she definitely agreed with.

"I'll follow on the rooftops," was all what Matt said, his voice informative, flat again. It was in a stark and painful contrast to his speech to her. It twisted her insides unpleasantly.

"How do I keep up with him on the rooftops?" Vera asked, horrified.

"It takes a lot of focus. You could come with the hunters. It's easier to stay in the car than moving across distances."

Vera didn't find the solution ideal, but accepted it, watching Matt and Jack disappear through the rooftop access of the apartment. Well. Shit.

"I really don't like this, Sammy. We should go alone."

Vera eyed Dean in silent agreement, tailing them as they left the apartment as well.

It might have looked like they went alone, but they had one more passenger on their backseat – not falling out of the car to Vera's relief – and when arriving to their first tipped location in a shape of an old ruin-ish warehouse, it turned out they had two more stalkers.

It wasn't the right building.

Neither was the second one.

Or the third one.

"Are you sure this is the right area, Sam?" Dean questioned grumpily after they left another building with their hands empty.

Sam shot him an offended look, snarking right back at him. "Yeah, Dean. Based on the info we have – hunting area, living in ruins, at least a bit isolated, _yes."_

"Alright, alright. Touchy."

Vera followed them through the shadows, Matt's silent figure being as one of those; unseen, unheard, almost merging with the darkness in his pitch black outfit. As if he was a ghost too. Vera's throat went tight at the thought. She wasn't happy about not having any luck yet with finding the creature, but she kinda was, because while Matt might have been slowly accepting the fact she was dead… seeing, _sensing_ her corpse… that would be a whole new level.

If she was being honest with herself, it would be a whole new level of trauma for her too.

They were nearing another building, particularly fallen apart when Matt tilted his head curiously, the painfully familiar gesture, especially in his old outfit – it reminded her of old days. Did he know? Was that the reason why he had decided to wear it? Because she liked it? It was no secret she did… _had_.

"Sensing something with your-" Dean started, but Matt sprang in the direction of the warehouse without an answer, running as fast as if he was running for his life.

"Matt!" four voices yelled after him simultaneously, only two heard by the sprinting figure.

"What the hell?!" Dean complained breathlessly as he broke into a run too, not really keeping up with Sam's long limbs, let alone with Matt fuelled by his rage.

Jack didn't run, grabbing Vera's hand instead. "Let's try something."

A feeling like being in a vortex spun Vera's world until she found herself in a dark space, blinking and hanging on Jack's arm for support. A second after she realized he had… taken her with her, a person ran through her; Matt.

"How did you-"

"Not sure. Never tried with anyone else. Let's go," he hurried, tightening his grip on her hand, phasing (was that a thing?) again.

They met with breathless Matt, rushing into a wider space, aiming to one particular place.

Vera gasped, covering her mouth, grateful for Jack being behind her to catch her as she stumbled backwards.

Tied to a chair, white as sheet of paper, lips between violet and blue, dark circles under her deep-set eyes with red lining. Dark blue burn on her forearm. Vera felt the wave of nausea at the sight, barely recognizing herself. Were her insides liquefied too?

"Vera," Matt breathed soundlessly, being at the body at instant.

She would swear her heart stopped when Matt's gloved hand brushed her soaked hair away from her forehead, his fingers running over her face; not because of the tender gesture, no. She was left breathless and frozen because of the _feeling_ of Matt's fingers on her cheek, on her forehead, behind her ear in her hair.

She could _feel _his touch. How?

She was so shocked she didn't notice the figure until it was too close.

"Look out!" she yelled on instinct, Jack's voice yelling a warning too, just a bit too late, and as uselessly as her.

Surprisingly small hand shoved Matt away from Vera's body, sending him flying through the air with inhuman strength.

Vera ran after Matt as if she could help him; but the little redhead woman with tattoos on every inch of her visible skin locked her gaze with hers precisely, making her stop dead in her tracks. She could see her, her unnaturally shiny blue eyes glaring right at her. What the actual-

The strange woman smiled slyly.

"Look who found her soon-to-be-corpse," she praised Vera sweetly, her palm shooting to Vera's actual body, touching the burn. It started gleaming at instant.

And burning.

Vera screamed, falling to her knees under the crushing pain, clutching at her left forearm. She had never felt anything like it, flames spreading through her veins like a poison, like a gasoline of fire, her tears feeling like acid on her skin instead of putting out the fire. Her throat was dry from the roar of agony, but she couldn't stop, she just couldn't, everything covered in black heavy fog, slicing into her skin, razors attacking from the inside, cutting her off from her own being.

"It really would have been more pleasant if you wouldn't have come, sweetheart," she heard someone say, but the words didn't make sense, her ears must have been bleeding, bleeding the fiery liquid, just burning, burning, burning— burning without the end.

_Burning down to ashes._

Agonized scream pointed Sam the right direction, helping him navigate through the poorly lit building. He rushed into a messy room, witnessing a feeding of the djinn, her body shining cobalt just like her victim's hand.

In a fraction of second when drawing out his blade, Sam realized three things. One: the scream was coming from everywhere and nowhere. Second: the voice was positively a female one and belonging to Vera. And finally the third thing: djinns didn't feed on dead people. Vera was alive.

He lunged after the djinn, cutting her arm; she immediately fell from her nirvana, acknowledging his presence. She lashed out, missing Sam by an inch as he jumped backwards.

"Why can't just you hunters leave us alone?" she snarled, swinging at him again, her tattoos burning with bright blue. Sam avoided it, but stumbled backwards, his feet tangled as a stray pipe appeared as if out of nowhere. He fell on his ass, his knife clinking on the ground.

Before he could reach for his gun, it was snatched away, the djinn smiling predatorily. "Feeding on you would be a ride, sweet-cheeks."

"Sammy!"

The very same moment Sam heard his brother's terrified cry, the blade fucking _flew_ through the air behind the djinn, and a fraction of second later, was sticking out of the djinn chest, lead right through the heart – and twisted in the wound.

"Holy-" Sam gasped, shielding his eyes from the bright light.

And then there was nothing but dark again until Dean's flashlight ran over Sam fighting for his breath and dark panting figure above him.

"Dude. We never said you need to go for the heart. You learn fast," Dean commented delightfully, relief audible in his voice.

Before Sam could say as much as a thank you, Matt was moving, dashing back to the tied down woman, already fighting with the rope.

"Ambulance, now!" he yelled after them, voice thick and urgent.

"She's _alive?!"_ Dean blurted out, pulling Sam up and pacing to the pair, searching his pockets for a phone.

Sam couldn't believe his eyes, but what he had seen was real. The djinn had been feeding just a moment ago; it was indeed possible Vera's heart was still beating. Coming closer, Sam could even tell her chest was rising in tiny motions. Incredible.

Dean directed the ambulance, swiftly informing them about Vera's condition as Sam started working another piece of the rope – on her ankles.

Her eyes opened blindly, her head immediately falling backwards groggily, barely caught by Matt's hand thanks to his prompt reactions.

"Come on, sweetheart," he whispered urgently, cradling her face gently but firmly. "She's burning up. There's some strangely smelling substance inside her, I can't identify it-"

Sam could see her eyelashes flutter at Matt's panicked voice. Her lips moved soundlessly.

"_Thank you-"_ he made out her words eventually and Matt's frantic hands travelled around her body, helpless. Sam guessed her heart wasn't doing so good and earing it must have been hell.

"_Goodbye,"_ she wheezed and Sam shot her an alarmed look, finally winning the battle with the last rope.

"No, no, don't," Matt ordered hastily, permitting no objections and rebellion against his attempts to save her life, not even from her. His arms slid under her crumbled body, lifting her from the squeaky chair. She hissed as he brushed her burned forearm, but Sam could tell she was already out.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

No one argued with Dean's suggestion, especially since there were no remains of the djinn and they were a bit in hurry.

"You should leave," Matt rasped, squatting with Vera's limb body outside the building to ease up the weight in his arms by partly laying her on the ground.

"You're kidding me."

"The ambulance is three minutes away. You don't want to be here when it arrives. Go."

"And you do?" Sam demanded, frowning.

"I can't leave her alone. They alerted the police too, but with a delay. I'll be gone by the time the cops are here."

Sam eyed him, doubting. But they didn't exactly have a choice, did they?

"Where do we meet you?"

"I won't leave the hospital roof until she's stabilized. Her pulse…" he wavered, his voice getting weaker, rough with emotion. "Her whole body is shutting down. I-"

"We'll call the burner," Sam understood, rewarded by the vigilante nodding.

"We still need to talk about the ghost problem." Matt shot Dean an equivalent of incredulous look and Sam prodded his ribs as painfully as he could. "Later, I mean! I have a heart!"

"Later," Matt whispered, a clear cue for the brothers to leave.

Sam grabbed Dean's arm, dragging him towards the car.

"You really need to learn some tact, Dean," he hissed at his brother, silently praying for Vera to make it. His mind returned to the events of the warehouse, to the blade flying through the air. "Plus, we might be dealing with a good ghost."

"Meaning?"

"Later," Sam shut him up, getting into the car.

Soon, they left Matt and Vera behind.

"You think she's gonna make it?"

Sam glanced at Dean, finding him examining him instead of the road. Sam gulped, uncomfortable.

"I honestly don't know. She _was_ burning up, and the other victim had… liquefied insides, Dean. I… I don't know. The djinn was feeding on her when I arrived and I heard screaming – Vera was screaming, but the sound was not coming from her body. I honestly don't know if she was some sort of a ghost or something, if it was her who we detected in the apartment. Maybe she was dead at some point, maybe— I have no clue. I wish she would make it, but…" he paused, at a loss of words. "All we can do is pray."

"Yeah," Dean hummed, falling into silence again.

Sam looked out of the window, deeply in thoughts. Could it have been Vera, manipulating the knife? Or was there another ghost? Djinns were supposed to trap their victims in a dreamed perfect world, the one they had encountered before had done that; but the book was talking about another kind of djinn, feeding on fear. Was there a kind that sent their victims into the world of ghosts? Into the world of wandering souls, unable to move on? Was it the reason why Vera hadn't been dead by the time they found her? Stuck in 'before'?

Dean's voice cut off the train of Sam's thoughts.

"Cas, buddy, I know you're busy as hell – or heaven, whatever – but we could really use your help. A friend of ours, she's in a shitty shape. You met her, not that she remembers. Probably. She's… she's a good one, cool one. Brave one. Her name is Vera, she's the one with the horned vigilante. If you can't find her, find us. We're in New York, Hell's Kitchen, 11th Avenue, passing some park, so if you could-"

"Dean."

Both brothers jumped in their seats at the sudden noise from the backseat.

"Thanks, Cas," Dean let out, obviously trying to calm down his rapidly beating heart, just like Sam.

"I can't seem to find her."

"Crap," Sam cursed. "Does that mean-"

Castiel's voice was serious. "I don't know. But I can't track Matthew Murdock's soul either."

Sam turned to him, horrified. "How is that possible? He was-"

Sam's ringtone cut the thick air and he quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket, his fright soothed as he saw Matt's name on the screen.

"Let's find out where the problem lies, shall we?"


	7. Fit right in

**7\. Fit right in**

They met on the rooftop of Metro General, Cas patiently letting Dean park the borrowed car before phasing them on the prearranged location. Matt apparently almost had a heart attack when they appeared out of nothing and just few feet from him. Also, he threw a billy club on Castiel. The angel caught it, curiously examining the weapon.

"We mean no harm," he stated, sounding a bit wounded.

If the situation was different, Sam would laugh his ass off.

"What is this?" Matt asked, seeming too tired to be irritated, gesturing towards the celestial being.

"I'm Castiel. I'm an angel of the Lord, Matthew. You should be familiar with me, except…" Cas titled his head to side, walking closer to the vigilante and examining him as if he was an exhibit in a museum.

If Matt was a dog, he would have had his ears back and he would have slid down, ashamed for his actions; it wasn't every day one would try and attack an angel. To be fair, Matt had no idea who he was dealing with. Sam was sure he was aware of the angel observing him closely now, but he didn't dare to move.

"You're shielded. Incredible," Castiel stated, indeed sounding incredulous.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean 'shielded'?"

Castiel's hand wordlessly hovered above Matt's ribs, small symbols lightening up. Matt inhaled sharply at whatever sensation the action caused him and Dean paced to him, shocked as much as Sam.

"Are those-"

"Yes, Dean. The protective sigils, same as you and Sam have. Preventing angels from finding him. And-" his hand moved up, small anti-possession symbol shining at Matt's collarbone.

"Anti-possession symbol. How is that possible? I mean… it is carved into his bones?"

Castiel retreated, allowing the vigilante to breathe in. "Not really. It's… it's like an invisible ink. It's very advanced. It even has… a protection of some sort, it's shifting constantly – if fractured ribs would threaten the continuity, the sigils would move before it would happen so they wouldn't crack. It's quite extraordinary. And there are..."

"What?" Sam asked cautiously, expecting another bombshell to drop. Though this one was a pretty hard to top – how was something like this even possible?

"There are… traces of grace in him."

"Angel grace?!" Dean blurted out, measuring Matt from head to toe in disbelief. Not that Sam was much better. "You're kidding me. So some angel just shielded him? Why? For the fun of it?"

Castiel shook his head. Matt was still standing as a statue, barely breathing, no doubt lost, unable to catch up with their discussion.

"He also has a wall in his head. That's why he can't remember us. His memory was alternated."

"What? By who?!"

"By someone much more powerful than a regular angel," Castiel added seriously, his eyes wide in surprise. "This is an archangel work."

Sam's blood ran cold. "Lucifer?"

"No. No, there's nothing evil about it, it's… more like… mischievous."

Sam couldn't let out a word, too shocked to find his voice.

"Gabriel? Freaking Gabriel?! How-" Dean paused, apparently having a revelation. "He must have been following us. Wow, that dude really didn't know boundaries, did he?"

The trio fell into silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

Matt cleared his throat. "I'm… sorry, but… are you saying… I have some sort of an angelic essence in my body?" he asked shakily, voice barely audible.

"Pretty much. Don't worry, it's fine," Dean stated, waving it off. Sam didn't know who he was kidding.

"And… you… you are-" Matt bowed his head, his shoulders slumping visibly. "You are… an angel."

Castiel smiled graciously. "Yes, Matthew. If you wished, I could remove the wall from your head, but it's… protecting you from unpleasant memories. Just like the sigils, it would probably be better if it stayed."

Matt's lips parted. "You… healed me the last time we— the last time you- appeared. I- _thank you."_

Before he could drop to his knees, the angel guessed his plan and caught his forearm to stop him. Matt froze.

"Tell me where you beloved is and what is her condition," Castiel demanded, keeping his voice kind despite the urgency.

"217," Matt whispered and the second he finished, they were all standing inside of the right room. Well, Matt was rather trying to balance himself as he had been phased somewhere for the first time. Sam felt him; it was a strange sensation even for himself, let alone for someone with enhanced senses _minus vision_.

Castiel let go of them in favour to examine Vera. Sam observed her with a frown – she didn't look any better than in the warehouse to be honest.

"They don't know what to do with the high fever. She… it's like there is a poison in her, a liquid fire, but they have never encountered it before," Matt said lowly, his voice unnaturally weak. Sam grimaced when he glanced at his face, honestly not knowing which was worse to look at – his half-expression or the state the woman in the bed was.

"I see. You must have interrupted djinn's last feeding."

Sam didn't even ask how the angel could know that. He just watched him extend his hand, touching Vera's sweaty forehead and closing his eyes. His other palm covered her mouth, which was a hardly understandable gesture; until the healing process started.

Light shined from under Castiel's hand, causing Vera to snap her eyes open, drawing out what would be no doubt deafening scream if there wouldn't have been for Castiel's hand. All of her muscles seemed to contract at the same time, her whole body in spasm. The heart monitor she was attached to freaked out.

"Vera!"

Matt lunged forward, barely caught by Dean's and Sam's hands before he could knock the angel out of Vera's reach.

"Wait, let him!" Sam shouted him down, propping his legs up against the floor to gain more strength as Matt tried to slip out; Sam had no doubt that breaking their bones would come next unless they would convince him Castiel was _helping_. "Matt! Let him heal her!"

Something must have change in Matt's perception, because he clenched his teeth; few seconds later, the periodical beeping of the monitor returned with much better frequency than it had been when they had come in. Matt stopped jerking in their arms and Sam slowly released him from his grip and withdrew to clear his path to her.

Castiel looked up, smiling when the woman's body relaxed, her breathing even.

No one dared to say a word as Matt slowly walked to the bed, taking a deep breath before reaching for Vera's limp hand and taking it between his. The angel made space for him and the man kneeled down, his lips on their connected hands, whispering.

Whatever he was saying, it made Castiel smile wider. He must have been praying.

"She is going to recover completely, soon."

Matt raised his head at the words, pushing his cowl down and blindly looking up at the angel. His brown eyes were glassy with tears of gratitude.

"No need for thank you," Castiel pronounced as Matt opened his mouth. "Just continue the good work you're doing. I should leave."

"The doctors and nurses are coming," Dean informed them, peeking into the hall through the blinds at the window.

"Then we should all leave."

Before anyone could protest, the three humans were in Matt's and Vera's apartment. There was no sign of the angel.

"Come on! Now I'll just have to walk to the hospital-"

Dean's figure disappeared instantly, startling both Sam and Matt.

"Is this common for… angels?" Matt asked hesitantly, his head and emotions probably a complete mess.

Sam smirked. "More than we would want. And this one is on a good side of things."

"There are… bad angels? Beside Lu— you know?"

"Once again, more than we would want." Sam grimaced, patting Matt's shoulder. "Don't try to wrap your head around it. Trust me – it will only give you a headache."

The first thing she was aware of was a warm vice on her left hand, a bit sweaty, but locked firmly. The rest came back slowly too – the beeping, the smell, the strange feeling in her whole body. Her _body_. She was lying on a bed, feeling the sheets, feeling a hand on her. She doubted it was a ghost touching her, which meant— was that- was she alive?

She remembered being in hell. The bursting flames in every cell of hers, thousands, millions of those at once. Jack's voice saying goodbye to her. Had she said it back?

The beeping fastened at the torturing memories, the vice on her hand slightly loosened, fingertips tenderly laid on her cheeks, lips on her forehead. Hair tickled the previously kissed skin, forehead resting against hers gently.

"Hey, Matt," she found her voice with difficulties, warm drops falling on her cheeks – definitely not hers. She blinked her eyes open, meeting Matt's closed ones, fresh tears just about to leave them.

"I really thought I lost you this time," he whispered, barely audible movements of his lips, a tormented sound. She closed her eyes again, enjoying the sensation of his skin on hers, his breath caressing her face.

"But you didn't."

He shook his head, taking her face in both hands, kissing her on her lips delicately. As if she was the most fragile and the most precious thing; it's been a while since that kind of analogy came to her mind when being kissed. It was far too easy to figure out why it did now, why it felt like that. Why _Matt_ felt like that.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into his lips, tears gathering in her eyes at the tenderness and at the memory of his declarations when he hadn't known if anyone had been listening in.

He didn't react beside moving one of his hands towards her chest, placing it over her heart, not so gracefully avoiding all of the sensors on her.

"This feeling," he rasped, his voice so painfully resembling the one he had spoken with her ghost. "This sound. It's the most important thing to me. Do you understand?"

Vera nodded; quite a trick with his hands on her. "More than you would think."

They fell into heavy, yet somehow comfortable silence. The weight of the declaration was as sweet as loading. Vera finally commanded her hands to move, finding Matt's arm and jaw. An IV prickled in her inner elbow uncomfortably.

"I have to tell you something." There were so many things she wanted to say, but there were two things she _needed_ _to_ get out of her chest as soon as possible; just in case she would forget again for some strange reason.

She could feel his body tensing, but he didn't discourage her not to break the moment.

"I don't know… I don't know if— if someone above has forgiven you for Midland Circle-" His breath caught in his throat and she opened her eyes to check on his expression. He seemed shocked she was opening the Pandora box. "But I have. If I… if I… wouldn't have woken up now-"

His palm covered her mouth, his expression was… conflicted. "Don't even say that."

"I really need to tell you something," she protested, but it came out as something between the lines of 'I-hihi-geed-u-el-u-anfin.' She carefully removed his hand. "I would have gone with the thought of you loving me and with peace in my mind in this area. And maybe I would have come back, but definitely not to haunt you for breaking your promises."

Matt's eyes snapped open, mixture of horror and awe in them. He was speechless.

"Yes. I heard you," she answered his unspoken question and his eyes went wide, turning desperate, hurt, shocked, amazed, _touched_. "I was there."

"_How?"_

"Yeah, I have no clue. But you got the message, right? Forgiven and stuff?" she lighted it up just slightly and Matt shut her up with a lot less careful kiss, breathing her soul in through her mouth. She clutched his shirt with her unfairly weak fingers. Huh. For how long she had been just lying— never mind. Point number two.

"Wait, wait, wait," she mumbled to his mouth and she praised herself for her restrain, because damn, she could feel his lips on hers again, why would she even try to stop him from kissing her? Especially like this? Matt took his cue, letting her speak, very visibly not happy about that either. Good. "There's one more thing I need to-"

Oh god. Was Matt's father watching them right now too? Because… _Jesus Christ._

"Love, you're blushing," Matt informed her softly and she rolled her eyes. She had every right to do so! Matt's fingertips traced the heat of her cheeks.

"Well. I… I met someone. In… the other world, so to speak?"

Matt turned into a statue. "Yes?"

"He was an amazing guy. Helped me a lot. And… and he has a message for you," Vera hinted him carefully, wondering if he figured out of whom she was talking about. He didn't say a word. "He's proud of you, Matt. The proudest dad ever."

Matt face twisted in a strange grimace, emotions flashing through it too fast for her to follow all of them. He settled in hesitant hope.

"Really?" he let out the one word with difficulty. His eyes… _shined_. Vera couldn't help but smile widely.

"Yeah. He said you always were a sneaky one, so he's not mad about you finding a way to use both your brains and fists to do good and justice. He admires your conviction. Admires _you_. He really is proud, Matt."

Vera could tell he was listening to her perfectly regular heartbeat, the truth spoken in every word. And he… he looked as if he saw the Sun.

"You met my father," he stated in pure awe as if he indeed saw the Sun for the first time in forever. And she would know what he looked like when he had.

"I did. And he literally said he approved of me," she revealed, her voice low so she wouldn't ruin the spirit.

Matt chuckled through his tears. "Of course he does. You're the best daughter-in-law-to-be a man could wish for. How… how is he?"

How _was_ he? Vera honestly didn't know how to answer.

"Watching over you. Over me, when he feels the need."

"I think…" Matt wavered, seeming lost in another world. "I think he threw me a knife. When I… when I went after the-"

"Djinn. Wow. I don't remember much from that warehouse. It was…" _Painful. Traumatic. Torturous. Agonizing. True hell? _"…hazy."

Matt didn't question her claim, but his expression darkened.

"But it's possible. He punched Dean when he was being a dick," Vera tried to cheer Matt up a little, wishing for his smile to return. He… smirked. Sort of. That was something.

"I was hoping it was you."

Vera clicked her tongue. "Nope. Totally useless… the slap I gave him just went through."

The smile returned, a bit proud this time. What was here to be proud of? "I can't believe you were here the whole time."

Vera shrugged. "I wish I could take credit for that, but… I kinda can't."

He kissed her forehead lovingly. "You're wonderful anyway." He let his lips linger, sighing. "We're about to have company in a few."

"What kind of a company?" Vera asked warily, placing her palms on Matt's chest so she could push him away if needed. She doubted she had enough strength for that, but hey, at least she would try. She felt Matt's lips curl up in a smile.

"A loud one."

"I was healed… by an angel."

"Yep," Dean confirmed, apparently enjoying that revelation.

"An _angel,"_ she repeated incredulously, suddenly not feeling right in her own body. She had been healed by an actual celestial being? How did she even deserve that?

"Exactly," Matt assured her once more, running his thumb over the back of her hand.

"That's not— wait. Was it Castiel?"

"How-"

"The same angel who healed Matt," she whispered, an incredulous smile creeping to her lips.

"How do you-" Sam tried once more, but Vera just waved it off.

"Jack told me, I met him— long story. I was healed by an _angel_. Wow. That's something I should have put on my bucket list, I would love to check off _that_."

"Yeah. It's a big deal. Can we move on?" Dean asked, getting annoyed now when he lost his advantage.

"Nope." "No." "Dean..."

The man threw his hands in the air the same time a young nurse came in.

"That's a crowd— and you're awake. How has no one informed us of the change in her condition? I'm sure at least one of you have been explicitly asked to-" she scolded them like five-year olds, her glare stern.

"I'm sorry," Matt apologized, calm and gentle as he could be. "I got caught up in the euphoria of my fiancée being awake."

The nurse stopped in midsentence, apparently at lost with words. "Oh. I… guess I'll just tell Doctor Lincoln myself. Sadly, I'll have to ask you to leave the room." She looked at the Winchesters pointedly. "All of you."

"Of course, madam," Dean exclaimed with an adorable smile and the young brunette just blinked a bit dazedly and spun on her heals, walking out.

"You're mean, all of you," Vera stated, highly amused at the misuse of the men's charm.

"We? She asked a blind man to leave. I don't see why, it's not like he would peek…"

Vera turned to Sam, her mouth hanging open. "Et tu, Brute?"

He grinned boyishly and Vera smiled against her will at the new expression on his face.

"But, I guess we will be heading out. For good. Things are happening and we have work do to. You need to recover-"

"I don't need to recover," Vera murmured, ignoring the fact her limbs were a bit weaker than they should be. "I'm fully recovered. I was touched by an angel."

Sam gave her a mild smile. "You still need to rest."

"I'll keep an eye on her so she will," Matt promised and Vera rolled her eyes. Of course he would. He was hypocritical like that and he could miss no opportunity to make a blind joke. She still loved him.

Dean rose from his chair. "This is a goodbye then. Cas said he would take care of the ghost, send the soul where it belongs. Our work is done. Try not to forget about us this time, okay?"

Vera's breath hitched at all the new info. Jack's soul would be… send somewhere? Was it a good thing? If an angel who had healed both Matt and Vera was on it, it had to be, right? Jack would find his peace. Right? She had to believe he would. She squeezed Matt's hand reassuringly and he flashed her a shaky smile.

"And how did we forget? Do we know that?"

Wide grin appeared on Dean's face. "We do."

"Take care, guys. Check in from time to time. We're a phone call away," Sam offered kindly before Vera could ask Dean what exactly did they knew.

Matt rose to his feet, leaving Vera's hand cold in favour to shake his with Sam's and Dean's.

"Thank you. For everything. I wouldn't— _thank you."_

"Anytime, Belzebub." Dean winked at him with no effect while Sam jus nodded with a smile and reassuring 'of course' on his lips.

"Thank you, guys. For… you know. Saving my life. Getting rid of the djinn and stuff. It was… it was… uhm," Vera interjected, suddenly at loss of words.

"...supernatural?" Sam offered, coming closer so he could shake her hand as well. Vera climbed up slowly so she was at least somewhat sitting. She accepted his hand.

"That. But the point is I'm really grateful."

"You're welcome," Dean called out from behind Sam.

"Congratulations, by the way."

Vera followed Sam's gaze, a bit confused – and then she couldn't control her lips as they curled up in a sheepish smile as she understood he was talking about the engagement – after all, even Matt had spoken of her as her _fiancée _ when the nurse had appeared.

"Thanks, Sam."

"What is he talking about?" Dean asked, not following as he took Sam's place and Vera's hand.

"About Matt popping up the question."

Dean quickly checked Vera's left ring finger, one corner of his lips rising. "Damn. My heart just broke."

Vera laughed at the note, but shot all three men in the room puzzled looks. Did she miss something? Matt didn't seem to understand either, while Sam just rolled his eyes.

"Dean was hitting on you the last time we were here. We kept this detail for ourselves when telling you the tale. _Well_. Now the cat's out."

"You were hitting on her?" Matt asked incredulously. Vera was hoping the disbelief wasn't caused by Matt thinking no one would want her.

"What did I do?"

Sam snorted. "Cooled him down. It was great. You-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough. Congratulation. We're leaving," Dean cut off his brother hastily, clearing his throat. Vera pressed her lips together, amused at his obvious embarrassment, but didn't protest.

"Goodbye."

Both brothers headed to the door. Dean spun to Vera once more before leaving. "Oh, and we know you forgot because of an archangel."

And he was gone.

Vera gasped, her eyes at the door as if the brothers would return and explain that… that _insane_ claim. They didn't. Vera looked at Matt in disbelief, clueless and utterly confused.

"What did he mean 'because of an _archangel'?_ Matt? What does that mean?!" she demanded, not soothed by his lips on her forehead for once.

"Later. I promise I'll explain later."

"Looks like whatever your body was fighting is gone. I'm going to be honest with you, miss Machackova," the doctor readjusted her glasses, glaring into her lab results as if they would change if she stared at them long enough. "We have no idea what caused your condition and how did your body defeat it. We just know you did and all your tests results are perfectly normal."

Vera fought the smile creeping to her lips.

"I know how," she stated, meeting with the curious glance of Doctor Lincoln. "It was a miracle."

-.-.-  
Notes:  
The awkward moment you find out that angels aren't what you thought they were.

Being Supernatural fan like:  
Friend: Your favourite character just died! Aren't you upset?  
Fan: *waves it off* They'll be back.

Me: *hits the table* Vera needs to meet Jack Murdock.  
Brain: How, you brilliant mind? She can't, unless you would kill her. *pauses* Don't you dare-  
Me: *kills Vera*  
Brain: You better mix it up with Supernatural to bring her back.  
Me: Oh, I will. I want to see Sam's and Dean's faces when Matt and Vera won't recognize them. : (basically) The crossover with Winchesters was one of my favourite ones. I wonder how much the story would be different if they (V+M) remembered.  
Brain: *imagines Matt's face when he realizes he has been resurrected by a freaking angel and then, unaware of that fact, almost threw away his life carelessly at Midland Circle* Let's do this.

And that, my friends, is how this fic started. Now it's only an epilogue left.


	8. The Sun hasn't died

**Epilogue – The Sun hasn't died**

Jack was surprised to find himself on the rooftop of the hospital against his will. Just a moment ago, he was in the room with his son and Vera; now, he was involuntarily moved. How?

"My apologies, Jonathan," sounded from behind him and he spun quickly, recognizing the voice. "I thought we should talk alone."

"Castiel," he whispered in awe. The angel who had saved his son and his daughter-in-law-to-be.

"Yes. I'm here to give you peace of mind. It's your time to move on. Your work is done."

Jack blinked, surprised. His work? Peace of mind?

"What… what does that mean? Are you… taking me somewhere?" he asked, worried. Where would he take him? And he couldn't just leave Matt! Especially not now when he discovered he could help him, just like he did in the warehouse!

"You did help, yes. But do you remember the anger you felt when you interfered for the first time?" the angel reminded him kindly, making an appeal to the shame that had stroke Jack afterwards as if he could read his mind. Hell, he probably could. "It will cumulate and blow up. That's how vengeful spirits are born. You could hurt someone, even accidentally. I'm sure you wouldn't want that."

Jack shook his head rapidly. No, he wouldn't. But he didn't want to leave Matt alone either.

"Your son won't be alone, Jack," Castiel switched to the name that was closer to him. "You met face to face with the woman he chose. You know he's in good hands."

Jack swallowed nervously, looking up to the angel's eyes. There was nothing but kindness in them – with just a spark of conviction. He was right, but the urge to stay – to be the father, the protector, the invisible shoulder to cry on… it was rooted deeply in him. He had always been there.

"You did everything you could, more than that. Believe that and believe in her. And have faith our Lord will watch over them."

_Have faith. _Everyone always said that. Seeing a real-life angel again, seeing his power… the goodness leading his actions… it helped. Jack chest was still tight at the idea of leaving his son, but he could feel the pressure had eased slightly.

"Can I… can I see him one more time?" he asked shyly, giving in involuntarily. Maybe it was time. If for nothing else, than for actually protecting his son from what he himself could become if he would say no.

"Of course. But I can promise you it won't be the last time you'll see him. You'll meet him again where I'm taking you."

The wave of relief washed over Jack and the angel took him downstairs for the last time. Matt was kneeling by the bed with Vera's sleeping form, praying again.

"He's praying for your soul too," Castiel informed him gently and Jack blinked away the stupid tears they gathered in his eyes. He walked to his son, placing his hand on his shoulder. Matt faltered in his prayer as if he could feel it and his body shivered before he continued. Jack smiled.

"I love you, Matty. And I'm always with you." He squeezed his shoulder before letting go with a heavy exhale. "Let's go before I change my mind."

Jack closed his eyes and they did.

"Dad!" cheerful voice called out and Jack barely managed to open his eyes again before a six-year old kid with dark hair collided with his legs, making him huff.

He automatically bended down, raising his son to his arms – damn he was heavy for such a scrawny kid.

"Hey, kiddo. How was class today?" he asked, smiling widely, tears pricking in his eyes.

"It was great! Mrs. Lawrence…"

Jack shamelessly turned off his ears and focused on the bright smile and eyes shining with excitement at learning something new. That was his Matty. And they were home.

It wasn't the only moment he got. His son thanking him for his support after graduation, hugging him firmly. Going out for a glass with him and Foggy to celebrate the decision to start their own firm to protect the small men. Matt introducing Vera to him officially, his blind eyes twinkling with happiness at the two people he loved the most meeting each other. Cleaning a cut on his face with Vera being out of town. The pair announcing their engagement. Matt celebrating a win of a big case with him over a beer…

This, this was heaven.

Castiel came back to Hell's Kitchen the next night, few hours after Vera was released from the hospital. Matt wasn't patrolling the streets that night – he was asleep, his arm locked securely about his fiancée, being well-aware of how close to death she had been. A little he could know she hadn't, that the way everything had happened always had been the plan, created a long before he was even born. Everything was the way it should be. Almost.

Castiel reached out so his hands were hovering over the humans' heads. He needed to focus. Alternating memories was a delicate process and he wanted to do a better work than his brother had done, he wanted them to remember _something._

Being fully aware Vera had been taken and had almost died for example? Definitely staying, so their bond remained as strong as it had grown due to the recent events. Matthew somehow being aware of his father being proud of him and approving of his choice of beloved? Absolutely. His faith in God consolidating, the feeling of being loved by their Father? That had to stay this time.

On the other hand, the awareness of the supernatural beings and the Winchesters? Not so much. Their fates couldn't remain tangled together, that would do nothing good and it would make Matthew's work – both civil one and night one – significantly more complicated. Meeting an angel fell into that category as much as the horrors of djinn's doing or killing the creature.

The vigilante had tracked down the criminal and he had been already dead for hours, killing himself with the same poison he had used on his victims. A short -lived serial killer. World was full of those, it was a perfectly believable tale; Castiel just had much more minds and things to alternate, but it was worth it, it was for the greater good.

Luckily, he had all power of heaven at his disposal.

-.-.-  
Notes:  
So, Castiel powered by Heaven is a bit of a dick playing God, but he means well. He always had. You can punch me for letting Matt forget yet again, but at least this time I was gentler.

Also, I might have cried a little when writing about Jack meeting kid!Matt in Heaven. Just FYI. I'm that much of a sap that my own writing is making me cry. Or the writing is that bad, it's hard to tell :D I was arguing with myself whether add Maggie or not for a while and in the end decided not to. I believe Jack still misses her, but at the point he had got to Heaven, Matt had become his whole world. You can fight me on that topic.

And if the titles of the chapters sounded familiar, I admit I listened to Imagine Dragons' Radioactive a lot ;)

Anyway, guys, this is it. Thanks for reading


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